


Let the World Revolve

by ironxprince



Series: The Story of Sophia Rogers-Stark [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adorable Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Gen, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26325913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironxprince/pseuds/ironxprince
Summary: Harley has plans to exploit his siblings while playing truth or dare, but the tables are turned when one of his owntruthssecrets is revealed to his parents.Includes swearing and vague mentions of sex
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: The Story of Sophia Rogers-Stark [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882657
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	Let the World Revolve

When Sophia steps into her bedroom after school on Friday, she’s not surprised to see Harley sitting on her bed, watching her cross the threshold. Sophia pauses in the doorway and makes eye contact, each sibling daring the other to move. Every time this happens, Sophia holds it together for a little bit longer than the last time, but every time it happens with Harley, it’s almost a given that she’ll lose.

This time is no different. Sophia is the first to crack, snorting into her fist as her lips break into a smile. One of these days, she  _ will  _ beat her brother in a stare-off, she swears it.

“What’s up, loser?” she says, dropping into her desk chair and placing her bag at her feet. She begins to pull out binders and notebooks, hoping to get her homework done tonight so she has the weekend free. (Translation: she’s going to spend the night watching Netflix with her books open in front of her.)

“You want to know what I’ve realized?” Harley says as Sophia boots up her laptop.

“No.”

“I’ve realized that we don’t really know each other that well.”

Sophia frowns as she opens her science textbook and begins scanning the questions. “What do you mean?” she asks absentmindedly.

“The whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing?” Harley prompts. “I mean, shouldn’t siblings be closer than that?”

“Oh, we’re plenty close. I apologize if I haven’t been telling you enough about my sex life lately. Where would you like to start?” Sophia fixes Harley with an innocent expression.

His face turns red and his eyes angry as he sputters out, “You-  _ what?  _ You’re having-” Sophia just grins and turns away. “No, you tell me, right now-”

“Tell you what?” Sophia hears, and there’s Peter in the doorway. He always comes when he hears rambunctious conversation, especially that between his siblings; he has a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out).

Sophia rolls her eyes in Peter’s direction and turns back to her books.

“Your sister is having…  _ sex! _ ” Harley whisper-shouts, livid. Peter’s mouth drops open, astonished, the sweet summer child that he is.

“Yeah, well, Harley’s a virgin,” Sophia shoots back.

“Uh- no, I’m not!”

“Gotcha.” Harley snarls at her. “Oh, come on. So you can have sex, but I can’t?”

“Because you’re my younger sister!”

“I’m 17.”

“That’s too young!”

“But you’re only 22.”

“So?” Harley rolls his eyes in disgust as he turns to face Peter. “Can you believe this shit?”

Peter stands, looking horrified, in the doorway. “Who  _ are  _ you guys?” he says, and Harley holds his hands up triumphantly.

“My point exactly.”

“What?”

Sophia leans around Harley to meet Peter’s gaze. “Harley wants us to have some quality family bonding time.”

“I just think, as the oldest, I should be getting to know you guys better,” he corrects, and Peter raises a suspicious brow.

“What does that mean?”

“It means…” Harley grins, and Sophia doesn’t like the dark smile on his face. “Truth or dare.”

“What are you, six?” Sophia mutters, turning back to her work.

“Shut up. I  _ mean,  _ let’s get to know each other better!”

“Why do I feel like this game is just a ploy, and you already have a list full of dares set up for us?”

Harley doesn’t respond, and Peter sighs. “Because that’s definitely what’s going on.”

Harley pouts as he looks between them. “Come on, guys, it’ll be fun!”

“Mhm.” Sophia opens Netflix and begins to plug in her headphones, but Harley yanks them out of her hands. “Hey!” she shouts.

“We will bond as a family and you will like it!” he demands. “Outside, now!” Harley storms from the room.

Sophia watches him leave with a raised brow. She meets Peter’s gaze and rolls her eyes, returning to her books. Peter steps closer, peering over her shoulder. “What are you studying?”

“We just moved on to chem,” she says, and Peter nods.

“Ah. Bohr-Rutherford diagrams.”

“Yeah, but I can never remember which order to add the electrons in.”

Peter leans in closer. “So, you start here-”

Harley storms back into the room, ripping Sophia’s notebook from beneath her wrist. “Um, excuse me!” she exclaims as Harley closes the book and tosses it back down to her desk.

“Oh, don’t actually pretend like you were doing anything. Come on. Truth or dare.”

Sophia sighs, exasperated. “Fine, if this will stop your whining.”

“You haven’t even  _ heard  _ whining yet.”

Peter raises his hand. “Uh, can I opt out?”

“No,” Harley says as he marches from the room.

Sophia nudges Peter’s shoulder. “Hey, if I have to struggle through this, you do, too.” They follow Harley down the stairs and into the front entryway. The Dads are nowhere to be seen.

“We’re heading out to the park,” Harley calls as he pulls the front door open, Peter and Sophia trailing behind him.

Tony rounds the corner out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel and fixing them with a suspicious expression. “And are doing what?”

“Spending time with each other,” Harley says, putting his hands in his pockets and giving Tony a totally innocent smile.

“Uh-huh. Take your sister with you.”

“Why?” Harley demands, and Tony raises a brow.

“So you can spend time with each other,” he mimics.

“Tony,” Steve calls warningly from somewhere out of sight, probably the living room. “You’re not using our daughter as a security camera, are you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tony calls back.

“You’re just sending her to keep an eye on them. You don’t trust our kids.” Steve steps into the entranceway, narrowing his eyes playfully at the trio of them.

“Come on. You’re telling me  _ you  _ do?” Tony shoots back.

“Definitely not, but I’m not sending out our youngest just to report to us later on-”

“I wanna go to the park!” a high-pitched voice squeals, and Morgan comes sprinting around the corner. Sophia grins at the sight, and she hears Harley slowly exhale behind her. Maybe Morgan is  _ just  _ the buffer they need to keep Harley from being- well,  _ Harley. _

“See?” Tony says triumphantly, gesturing to his daughter. “She wants to go to the park.”

Steve smiles as he places a hand on Morgan’s head, ruffling her hair. “Yeah, yeah. You guys, watch your sister, okay?” he says to the trio by the door, and Sophia steps forward, taking Morgan’s hand as she struggles with her shoes.

“Oh, our pleasure,” Sophia says as Morgan beams up at her.

Harley scowls from beside her.

“Come on, Mo,” Sophia says, tugging her along as Peter waves to his parents. Tony grins at Steve, Sophia grins at Peter, and Harley scowls between them all.

//

Peter waits for Morgan at the bottom of the slide, scooping her up and airplaneing her with ease before dropping her back to the sand. Sophia watches them from the grass beside the play structure, and Harley shakes his head, turning away as Peter demonstrates how to hang upside down from the monkey bars.

“Alright,” he says, narrowing his eyes toward Sophia. “Let’s play.”

Sophia smiles pleasantly at him. She expects to make this “game” as difficult for her brother as possible. “Go ahead.”

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Sophia answers quickly, and Harley rolls his eyes.

“Coward. Fine, how many times have you… done it?”

Sophia scoffs. “If I’m a coward, you’re a child. Six, I think.”

“ _ Six? _ ” Harley shouts, and Peter looks over at them, frowning. Sophia waves him off with a smile.

“Yes, six.”

“With- with David?”

“That’s more than one question,” Sophia says, laughing when Harley blows out a puff of air. “My turn. Truth or dare?”

Harley crosses his hands tight over his chest. He looks upset.  _ Good.  _ “Dare.”

“Hm.” Sophia smiles. “I dare you to call Dad and tell him you’re having sex.”

Harley blanches, mouth falling open. “No.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Soph, that isn’t fair.”

“It  _ definitely  _ is.”

Harley glares at her for a moment, but Sophia refuses to back down. She will win  _ this  _ stare-off.

“I hate you,” Harley mutters, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

“I know.”

He opens the contacts in his phone. “Which one?”

“I’ll show mercy and let you choose.”

Harley scowls up at her as he selects Tony’s contact and holds the phone up to his ear. Good choice.

He steps away, but not far enough that Sophia’s out of earshot. She hears them greet each other, and then she hears the conversation quiet, and:

“I’m having sex.”

Sophia doesn’t even have to  _ try  _ to be able to hear Tony’s screaming. She can’t contain her laughter and Harley turns, glaring at her - but there’s a look in his eyes, something mischievous that Sophia doesn’t like.

“No-” she says, but it’s too late.

Harley presses the speaker closer to his mouth. Amongst Tony’s screams, he shouts, “Soph is, too!”

And then, he hangs up.

Sophia screeches, something loud and inhuman, and charges toward Harley as he fumbles to pocket his phone. “You son of a bitch!” she shouts as she sends punch after punch in his direction, Harley laughing between dodges and grunts. From the corner of her eye she sees Peter charging toward them, and she steps back before he has the chance to intercede.

Harley is still laughing when she pulls away, albeit rubbing a sore spot on his shoulder.

“That wasn’t the dare!” Sophia shouts.

“Oh, I added something of my own. You see-” he says, turning to Peter, but Peter lifts a hand.

“I heard the whole thing. For one, that was a dick move.” And then, he points in Sophia’s direction. “Still, you had it coming.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“I mean, you’re still really young-”

“Okay, your turn,” Sophia says, placing her hands on her hips. “Truth. Or. Dare?”

Peter shakes his head. “C’mon, guys, I’m on Morgan duty.”

Sophia doesn’t even spare her sister a glance. “She’s fine. Truth or dare?”

Peter sighs, shaking his head. “Truth.”

“You guys suck,” Harley groans.

“Tell us something we don’t know that you’re keeping a secret from the Dads.” Peter recoils, and Harley raises his brows, suddenly interested.

Peter’s gaze passes between them. “You’re not going to call and tell them, are you?”

“Not unless you piss us off.” Peter cracks a smile. Sophia’s not joking.

“Um, okay, let me think… alright, when I was in grade nine, I….” Peter squeezes his eyes shut. “I lied to the Dads. I told them I got an A on my math test… really, I got a B+.”

Sophia blinks. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I-I actually forgot a formula, and-”

“Shut up. I don’t care about that. Tell us another one.”

“What? That’s something you didn’t know, and something I kept a secret. That’s what you asked for.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not good enough blackmail material. I need something else.”

Harley places a hand on her shoulder. “Soph, that  _ is  _ what you asked for-”

“I don’t care what I asked for. I want something better than an average grade on a test.”

“He answered your question. Move on.”

“I want something better.”

“You can’t-”

“Fine, I’ll give you something better,” Peter interrupts, face red. Sophia looks up, shoulders set, and even Harley looks interested. “Okay, so, also in grade nine-”

“You’re not going to tell us about a failed science test, are you?” Sophia demands.

“No,” Peter mutters, eyes down. “In grade nine, I… I smoked a cigarette.”

Sophia’s eyes go wide. Harley’s hands fall to his sides. Peter looks up at them, nervous.

Harley bursts into laughter at the same time Sophia shouts, “ _ What? _ ”

“Everyone was doing it!” Peter exclaims, face red, as if that defends the action in any way at all.

“Ho-ly shit,” Sophia whispers slowly, and Harley laughs even harder.

“Guys,” Peter mutters, but his siblings don’t give him the time of day.

“ _ You,  _ Peter?” Harley chuckles. “Mister goody-two-shoes?”

“Everyone was doing it,” Peter repeats quietly, and Sophia can’t contain her gleeful smile.

“Yeah, you said that already.”

“Guys, you can’t tell the Dads.”

“Have you smoked one since?” Sophia asks with excitement.

“No.” Peter shakes his head. “It… tasted awful.”

“Wow. That’s just….” Sophia chuckles. “Wow.”

Harley wipes away a tear. “Alright, Pete. It’s your turn to ask Soph something.”

Peter shoves his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, alright. Um-”

“No, wait. Hold on.” Harley steps to Peter’s side and begins to whisper something in his ear.

“Nuh-uh, no! Not fair!” Sophia interrupts.

“What?” Harley asks innocently.

“You  _ cannot  _ help him.”

“You can’t prove I’m discussing anything remotely related to this here game we’re playing.”

“Oh, screw you.”

“I’ve already got someone doing that, actually.”

Sophia mock-gags. “You suck.”

“Mhm.” Harley turns back to Peter, and Sophia rolls her eyes.

“I’m going to go check on your sister. You guys let me know when you finish discussing first kisses.”

“Will do,” Harley sings, and Sophia groans, turning and scanning the play structure. She spots Morgan easily - she’s the only kid in the vicinity, trying to climb onto a swing. Sophia hurries over and helps her up, but keeps her hold on Morgan’s waist, because, as predicted, Morgan takes her hands off the chains to brush her hair back.

“Remember to hold on, Mo,” Sophia says.

“I know,” Morgan defends, and Sophia steps back as Morgan uses her feet to propel her into motion. “Why were you hitting Harley?”

“Oh, you saw that, huh?” Sophia says, giving Morgan a light push. “Harley was just being mean- but I shouldn’t have pushed him,” she corrects quickly. She doesn’t want Morgan going around shoving people when they call her a stupid-face (pre-schoolers, so mean).

“Why was he being mean?”

Sophia’s phone vibrates and she pulls it out of her pocket to read the notification. It’s a text from Tony:

_ We need to talk. _

Sophia’s heart sinks into her stomach.

She pockets her phone and resumes pushing Morgan on the swing. “He, uh, told someone something I wanted to keep a secret.”

“You have secrets?” Morgan asks, and Sophia wants to melt at her innocence.

“Sure I do. Everyone does, really.”

“What’s your secret?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t  _ be  _ a secret, now would it?”

Morgan drags her feet on the sand, bringing her swing to a stop. “Guess not.”

Sophia looks up when she sees Peter approaching them, twisting his fingers in front of him, and Harley following just behind wearing a devilish grin.

Whatever this is, Sophia  _ really  _ doesn’t want to participate. She could suggest they return home, but… Tony’s waiting for her there. She wants to put off that conversation for as long as she possibly can.

And then, it hits her. They had brought along a buffer.

Sophia leans down to whisper in Morgan’s ear.

“Hey, Mo, what do you say we play a game with these guys?”

“Like tag?” Morgan’s little mind supplies. Sophia smiles.

“Exactly like tag.” She taps Morgan on the shoulder, and then steps back and screams, “Morgan’s it!” Morgan leaps off the swing and charges toward the boys, and Sophia watches chaos ensue.

The boys instantly scatter, neither one wanting to concede defeat. Harley glares at Sophia as he sprints past - “Dirty tricks!” he shouts, and Sophia just waves as Morgan charges after him, little fists clenched. Sophia turns and hurries in the other direction, meeting with Peter on the other side of the slide as Harley dodges Morgan’s persistent attempts to tag him.

“What did Harley want to know?” Sophia asks as she catches her breath.

“If dare, he wanted you to clear his name with the Dads,” Peter says, inching around the slide to keep out of Morgan’s sights. “If truth…” Peter’s face flushes red. “It was just a bunch of sex questions which I  _ really  _ don’t want to repeat.”

Sophia chuckles under her breath. “And what would you have asked if Harley didn’t give you any ideas?”

“If dare?” Peter shrugs. “Probably, I dunno, to buy me a cookie, or something. For truth… I would’ve asked if you were happy.”

Sophia goes still, the game of chase forgotten. “What?”

“Yeah. I mean, since David… I want to know if you’re really okay, because I know how easy it is to trick everyone around you into believing that you are, but I just wanted to know the truth.” Peter shrugs, looking around the slide. “Anyway, I can’t see Morgan anywhere, so-”

Sophia feels a tap on her shoulder. Harley’s waiting for her when she turns. “You’re it,” he says with a smirk. “No touch backs.”

“Real mature,” she calls after him as he strolls comfortably away. Really, though, her mind is stuck with Peter. He had said it so easily, so nonchalantly. With the chance to take advantage as Harley had, all Peter wanted to do was check in with her.

Sometimes, with siblings, it’s easy to forget that you’re related, that you’re all on the same side. Peter had always been quiet, had always kept to himself, but always  _ cared. _

It blows Sophia’s mind, how he could be so innocent and so, so  _ kind. _

She has to find a way to repay him.

“Soph!” Harley calls, lifting his hands expectantly. “You know you’re it, right? That usually involves chasing people. Not me, of course, but  _ people. _ ”

Sophia glares at him before turning and finding Peter with ease, the boy crouching beneath the bridge of the play structure. She stops before she gets too close, not wanting to startle him into running.

“I’m going to tag you, and then you tag me,” she explains through gritted teeth. Peter looks at her warily. “Come on, man. Harley did the whole  _ no touch backs  _ thing and I  _ really  _ want to get him back.”

Peter grins in understanding before reaching out his hand for Sophia to tag. She slaps his hand, and he nudges hers in return.

“Thanks,” she mutters, before turning and stalking back up the hill. “Harley!” she calls.

Harley turns, looking so damn smug. Sophia makes it her mission to wipe that look off his face. “What? I said no touch backs.” Sophia merely smiles, and understanding crosses Harley’s features. “Shit.” He takes off running, Sophia hot on his heels.

//

Fifteen intense minutes later, the four of them lay sweaty and panting on the hill, the play structure empty below them and the sun beginning to dip beneath the trees. Morgan lies to Sophia’s left, rolling back and forth on the grass, Peter to her right, and Harley to the right of him. Together they look up at the clouds, the space around them quiet except for Morgan’s excited squeals.

“I’m sorry I told Dad about you,” Harley says after a moment, and Sophia doesn’t take her eyes off the colour-changing sky as she responds.

“I’m sorry I dared you to tell him about  _ you.  _ Peter was right, it was a dic…” Sophia stops when she remembers Morgan beside her. “-tatutorial move,” she corrects, cheeks heating up.

Peter props himself up on his elbows, looking down on her with a barely concealed grin. “What was that? What does  _ dictatutorial  _ mean, Soph?”

Morgan drops to her knees on Sophia’s left. “What does it mean?” she repeats, and Sophia offers a smile to the parrot.

“You’ll learn when you’re older.”

Morgan frowns, crossing her little arms over her chest. “Everyone says that.”

“Aw, Soph, don’t leave your sister in the dark. Tell her what it means,” Harley calls from Peter’s right. He looks like he’s  _ thoroughly  _ enjoying himself.

“Harley, why don’t  _ you  _ explain? After all, you are older than I am.”

Harley frowns at Sophia, and she sticks her tongue out at him. “Actually,” he says, “I think Peter has the best grades in this family. Peter, care to share the definition of the word?”

Peter blanches, mouth falling open - but he takes too long to answer, and by the time he begins to stutter out an explanation Morgan’s already turned away, doing cartwheels in the grass. Harley laughs, laying back with his head on his elbows.

“Nice save, Soph. Quick thinking.”

Sophia just shakes her head. “You know I’m not good under pressure.”

“You could’ve at least  _ tried. _ ”

“I  _ did  _ try!”

“You strung a bunch of random syllables together!”

“Hey, why didn’t either of you apologize for what you asked  _ me? _ ” Peter interrupts, and Sophia laughs at the reminder.

“Because it was hilarious, and I have no regrets and nothing to apologize for.”

“Yeah, ditto,” Harley contributes, and Peter huffs, laying back on the grass.

Sophia watches the sky darken above her. As great as this moment is, she can’t help but think about what comes next, about what she’s going to face tonight, wondering what her Dads are going to do.

Harley must have the same thought.

After a moment he stands with a groan, dusting off his jeans. He offers one hand to Peter and the other to Sophia. “Shall we go?”

Sophia takes his hand, meeting his eyes with a nervous look as he helps her to his feet. And then, he looks to Morgon. “You ready to go, Mo?”

“No!” she shouts back instantly, and Sophia smiles as she walks over to her sister, kneeling in front of her.

“Hey,” she says, and the quiet in her voice has Morgan calming and stepping closer. “What do you say, we go home, put on Tangled, and eat ice cream?”

“Before bed?” Morgan whisper-shouts, and Sophia nods.

“Yup. Before bed.”

Morgan smiles, nodding her head vigorously, and Sophia takes her hand. “Alright, let’s go.”

//

Tony moves to the entryway the second the kids turn the doorknob of the front door, meeting them before all four of them have the chance to cross the threshold.

“Is it true, or was that a joke?” he demands. Sophia and Harley share a look.  _ In this together. _

“It’s true,” Sophia says, keeping her eyes down. Tony’s face flushes red, and Steve joins the group at Tony’s side.

“Come on, Mo,” Sophia hears Peter say quietly. He takes Morgan’s hand and begins to guide her into the kitchen - first, ice cream, and then Tangled, as per Sophia’s promise. Well, at least someone will have a good time tonight.

“Why’d you tell us now?” Steve says. His voice sounds hoarse.

“It was, uh….” Harley mumbles something incoherent.

Steve leans in closer. “What?”

“Truth or dare,” Harley mutters, embarrassed. Steve gives a single, curt nod before stepping aside.

“Living room,” Tony says, and turns to lead the way.

Sophia shares one more look with Harley, a simultaneous  _ good luck  _ and  _ see you on the other side,  _ before she trails after her Dad. Harley follows, and Steve comes last.

//

Peter inserts the disk into the DVD player in his Dads’ room and settles back on their King bed, where Morgan is waiting with two scoops of vanilla ice cream Peter had put into a bowl for her. He’s just getting comfortable and the movie is beginning to play when Morgan calls his name.

“Petey?”

He turns his head. “Yes, Morg?”

“Why can’t Sophie and Harley watch Tangled with us?”

Peter puts an arm around Morgan’s waist and pulls her closer to him. If she feels lonely, he’ll quell that feeling for her. “They’re talking with the Dads.”

Morgan nods, her eyes on the screen as she takes a bite of ice cream that ends up more on her cheeks than in her mouth. Peter has a thought to wipe it away, then realizes that she looks happy as is. He just has to make sure she doesn’t dirty the blankets.

“What’re they talking about?”

Peter exhales a slow breath. “They hid a secret from Dad and Pops, but the Dads found out.”

“Harley told them about it.”

Peter is taken aback as he frowns down at his sister. “Yeah? How’d you know that?”

“Sophia hit him. She was mad.”

Peter gives a small laugh, grabbing a tissue from the nightstand and cleaning Morgan’s cheeks for fear that the ice cream will drip onto the duvet. “You’re very smart.” Morgan hums in acknowledgement. “Yeah, Sophia was mad, but we don’t hit people when we’re mad, right?”

“I know,” Morgan says. And then, she hesitates. “Um, I have a secret.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“When Pops told me I could have one cookie, I ate three.”

Peter bursts out laughing, as does Morgan, and he turns up the volume on the t.v. so they can enjoy the animation.

//

It takes Tony a moment to speak.

His head is between his hands and his elbows set on his knees as he sits in the brown armchair, Steve leaning against the wall behind him and staring off into the middle distance. Sophia and Harley sit side-by-side on the couch across the room, their eyes down. They really have no idea what’s coming.

“I wish you had told us in another way,” is what Tony starts with. He lifts his eyes to the two of them, and he looks simultaneously hurt and angry. “Not just in a phone call that sounded like a prank.”

Sophia nods.  _ Understood.  _ She sees Harley doing the same.

Tony leans back in his chair, running a hand down his forehead to pinch at the bridge of his nose. Steve steps forward, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Your Dad and I talked,” he says, addressing his kids. “You’ve reached the age where you begin to think about…  _ that,  _ and seeing as we can’t control you, it’s only natural you’d like to experiment.”

Sophia’s brow furrows. She meets Harley’s gaze from the corner of her eye.  _ What? _

“We’ve decided, we’re giving you freedom to do as you wish, with some ground rules.”

When Sophia’s head shoots up, Tony’s eyes are there to meet her. He gives her the barest smile. Needless to say, she’s confused as hell.

“First of all, respect,” Steve lists off. “The most important, so you’re not just sleeping around. You have to know the other party and be entirely comfortable with them, and them with you. These are acts of love, not just ones to satisfy curiosities, understand?”

Sophia is quick to nod. Harley takes a moment longer, disbelieving.

“Which brings me to my next point: consent. Every single step of the way. Both of you involved need to give it. We are trusting you to speak up when you’re uncomfortable, to make them feel safe enough to tell you, and to listen to them when they speak up.” Steve counts the points on his fingers. Again, Sophia and Harley nod.

“Three, safety-”

“Wrap it before you tap it, guys,” Tony interjects. Sophia snorts, Harley bellows out a laugh, and Steve gives Tony an exasperated look.

“Okay, I was trying to be elegant.”

“No need. They get the point.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Also, we want the names of everyone you’re involved with.”

Harley leans back on the couch. “And why is that necessary?”

“Because we’re your parents and we care about you and what we say goes, and we’re letting you off with only being grounded for two weeks, so you should be grateful.” Steve raises a brow.

Harley purses his lips, nodding. “You’ll have a list by the morning.”

“Good.”

Tony leans forward, gaze flicking between Harley and Sophia. “Guys, please just talk to us next time. We don’t want to be your enemies, and we’re not trying to ruin your life. Though it may be hard to believe, we just care about your safety, okay?”

Sophia bites down gently on her lower lip as she nods. Harley mock-salutes. “Yes, Sir,” he says, though Sophia knows that’s his way of being serious without getting too serious.

“Alright.” Tony waves them off. “Go on up to your rooms. Spend your weekends here. Get home from school at 3:15 sharp.”

“Yes, Sir,” Harley repeats as he stands from the couch.

This time, it is 100% a mockery, and Sophia wonders just how long it’ll take him to break the rules. Her money’s on 24 hours.

//

Sophia collapses face-down onto her Dads’ bed, at her sibling’s feet. Harley plops down on top of her, and she lets out a grunt. Morgan giggles as she joins the pile, and Harley raises an arm to ensure she doesn’t overshoot and roll off the bed.

Peter watches them with a pained expression from where he sits at the headboard. “What’s your sentence?” he asks.

“Grounded for two weeks,” Sophia says, her voice sounding strained (probably from the extra hundred-and-fifty pounds on top of her).

“Huh. I didn’t hear any yelling.”

“They were cool with it,” Harley says, rolling off Sophia and onto the mattress, simultaneously pulling Morgan onto his chest.

“Wait, what? What do you mean-”

“I mean, we barely got off with a slap on the wrist.” Harley grins cockily. Sophie merely seems concerned.

Peter nudges her with his foot. “Did you want something more?”

She shrugs. “I dunno, I feel like I just got away with murder or something.”

“Oh, no,” Harley pitches in, settling Morgan between her and Peter against the headboard. “That’s a completely different feeling.”

Sophia rolls her eyes at him and sticks out her tongue. Peter shrugs as he pulls his feet back, giving Sophia more room to settle on the mattress. “They’re pretty cool parents.”

Harley frowns at him. “Kiss ass.”

“That’s a bad word,” Morgan mutters as she swirls her spoon around the empty ice cream bowl.

“That it is,” Harley answers, pinching Morgan’s side with every word and leaving her squealing and kicking her legs with glee.

“Guys, please?” Peter interrupts, gesturing wildly to the screen. “This is an important part.”

Sophia tosses a pillow in his direction. “Nerd.”

Peter knocks it aside with ease. It hits Morgan, and her bowl goes flying. The remnants of melted ice cream splash everywhere, coating the Dads’ pillows in sticky droplets. For a moment, all the four of them can do is stare. And then, they bustle into motion.

Peter reaches for the remote and turns off the t.v. Harley flips the pillows over, and Sophia reaches for Morgan, lifting her off the bed. They turn off the lights and hurry from the room. They’re gone as soon as they arrived.

They were never even here.

//

The next day, Sophia gains permission to leave the house from Tony (to Harley’s dismay). She uses her limited freedom to buy Peter a cookie.


End file.
